Snow vehicle

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a snow vehicle having at least one lighting element for orientation in the surroundings of the vehicle and for optical detection of obstacles and topographical conditions of the surroundings, wherein the lighting element is a laser having at least one laser beam, which projects a pattern having a structure on the ground of the surroundings, said pattern being distorted in a visually recognizable manner on the obstacle to be detected or on the topographical conditions.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A snow groomer configured to maintain at least one of ski slopes and cross-country ski trails, the snow groomer comprising:
 at least one lighting element comprising a plurality of lasers mounted on a rotatable drum body on a side of the snow groomer and configured to self-level via a gyroscope sensor, the plurality of lasers configured to emit a plurality of laser beams through a plurality of different lenses to project a pattern having a structure on the ground of the surroundings of the snow groomer, wherein the pattern is configured to be distorted in a visually detectable manner on at least one of an obstacle of the surroundings of the snow groomer and a topographical condition of the surroundings of the snow groomer. 
 
     
     
       2. The snow groomer of  claim 1 , wherein the visually detectable manner comprises an object-related optical recognition of the surroundings of the snow groomer. 
     
     
       3. The snow groomer of  claim 1 , further comprising a gyroscope configured to determine a current location of the snow groomer via detecting changes in direction in conjunction with measuring distances. 
     
     
       4. The snow groomer of  claim 1 , wherein the pattern having the structure on the ground of the surroundings of the snow groomer is controlled as a function of at least one of: a driving speed, a steering angle, a selected gear, and an inertial sensor configured to detect an inclination of the snow groomer. 
     
     
       5. The snow groomer of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the lenses is configured to optically transform at least one of the laser beams such that that laser beam generates the pattern directed towards the ground from the mounted position on the snow groomer. 
     
     
       6. The snow groomer of  claim 1 , wherein the structure of the pattern comprises one of: a grid structure, a point structure, a circular structure and a line structure. 
     
     
       7. The snow groomer of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one lighting element comprises a side laser configured to project an additional structure onto the ground beside the snow groomer, wherein the side laser is mounted on one of a side of a cabin of the snow groomer and a top of the cabin of the snow groomer. 
     
     
       8. The snow groomer of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the lenses is configured to emit a horizontal line pattern and at least one of the lenses is configured to emit a vertical line pattern. 
     
     
       9. The snow groomer of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the lasers is mounted on an extendable and retractable telescopic arm. 
     
     
       10. The snow groomer of  claim 9 , wherein the extendable and retractable telescopic arm is one of electrically controlled and controlled by an electric motorized actuator. 
     
     
       11. A lighting element configured to be coupled to a snow groomer, the lighting element comprising:
 a plurality of lasers mountable on a rotatable drum body on a side of the snow groomer and configured to emit a plurality of laser beams through a plurality of different lenses to project a pattern having a structure on the ground of the surroundings of the snow groomer, wherein the pattern is configured to be distorted in a visually detectable manner on at least one of an obstacle of the surroundings of the snow groomer and a topographical condition of the surroundings of the snow groomer, and 
 a gyroscope configured cause a self-levelling of the laser. 
 
     
     
       12. The lighting element of  claim 11 , wherein the visually detectable manner comprises an object-related optical recognition of the surroundings of the snow groomer. 
     
     
       13. The lighting element of  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the lenses is configured to optically transform at least one of the laser beams such that that laser beam generates the pattern directed towards the ground from the mounted position on the snow groomer. 
     
     
       14. The lighting element of  claim 11 , wherein the structure of the pattern comprises one of: a grid structure, a point structure, a circular structure and a line structure. 
     
     
       15. The lighting element of  claim 11 , further comprising a side laser configured to project an additional structure onto the ground beside the snow groomer, wherein the side laser is mountable on one of a side of a cabin of the snow groomer and a top of the cabin of the snow groomer. 
     
     
       16. The lighting element of  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the lenses is configured to emit a horizontal line pattern and at least one of the lenses is configured to emit a vertical line pattern. 
     
     
       17. The lighting element of  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the lasers is mountable on an extendable and retractable telescopic arm. 
     
     
       18. The lighting element of  claim 17 , wherein the extendable and retractable telescopic arm is one of electrically controlled and controlled by an electric motorized actuator. 
     
     
       19. A snow groomer configured to maintain at least one of ski slopes and cross-country ski trails, the snow groomer comprising:
 at least one lighting element comprising:
 a laser configured to self-level via a gyroscope sensor, the laser configured to emit a laser beam configured to project a pattern having a structure on the ground of the surroundings of the snow groomer, wherein the pattern is configured to be distorted in a visually detectable manner on at least one of an obstacle of the surroundings of the snow groomer and a topographical condition of the surroundings of the snow groomer, and 
 a glass element in which a plurality of mirror elements are embedded and arranged on an outer circumference of a rotatable drum body, the mirror elements configured to reflect the laser beam. 
 
 
     
     
       20. The snow groomer of  claim 19 , wherein the glass element comprises a cut on a surface that enables a reflected laser beam to be formed such that the reflected laser beam emerges from the rotatable drum body with a cross-shaped structure. 
     
     
       21. A lighting element configured to be coupled to a snow groomer, the lighting element comprising:
 a laser configured to emit a laser beam configured to project a pattern having a structure on the ground of the surroundings of the snow groomer, wherein the pattern is configured to be distorted in a visually detectable manner on at least one of an obstacle of the surroundings of the snow groomer and a topographical condition of the surroundings of the snow groomer, and 
 a gyroscope configured cause a self-levelling of the laser, and 
 a glass element in which a plurality of mirror elements are embedded and arranged on an outer circumference of a rotatable drum body, the mirror elements configured to reflect the laser beam. 
 
     
     
       22. The lighting element of  claim 21 , wherein the glass element comprises a cut on a surface that enables a reflected laser beam to be formed such that the reflected laser beam emerges from the rotatable drum body with a cross-shaped structure.